This is going to be my diary of an engine build for the blue 740 sedan, a record of what I buy, what I do, thoughts, experiences, the works. And so it begins, with the basics, cleaning the block. Actually it began some months ago when I pulled the engine from a car at the local self help yard and brought it home in the 240 wagon :-)

EDIT: Title change to reflect plans. Apparently the block gives way after about 700whp or so, maybe less. Though mine will be max strength with no overbore.

~350hp = maxed out TD05HR-16G for the gold 240 wagon mild setup using stock pistons of some sort.~650hp = forged/built bottom end with cams and a bigger turbo of some sort, etc etc etc for the blue 740 sedan.

A while back I tried to space the block off the stand slightly to give the trigger pattern clearance so the crank could be freely turned and not under any stress (JUST touching, no major bind). But it moved when I undid the first one, and I couldn't get it back together without the crane. So tonight, finally, I got the crane in, and lifted it up, and redid all four with more spacing, and now it can turn freely with 2mm or so of clearance. Yay.

Need to pull the bottom off and clean a few more things on the outside/inside, then turn it upside down and clean the remaining stuff from the yard out of the top ring area... Which I can't do until I know there's nothing bad in the sump waiting to run up the bores... and there will be something... So...

May get onto that this week, as it'd be nice to have it clean and able to be spun freely without scouring/gouging/scoring the bore.

EDIT: Hey! There's the oil squirter in the background of the photo, unintended shot :-D I should try to get another one of these to build up for the gold car, rather than using the clean SOHC engine in it. Maybe keep that for a good low-output spare?

I might finally get around to finishing the clean up of this bottom end later this coming week. That'd be good!

And the fasteners, and bolted it back on gently. Next up, roll it outside, put a tray under it, spit it up side down, and clear out those ringlands! Compressed air, degreaser, brakeclean, CRC, gentle wire brush ah la chinese pick set, etc. Whatever it takes to get them clear, then back up the right way and on with the action.

Same three-groove 156mm OD lower pulley/damper on all four engines.Single groove 137.8mm OD water pump pulley on both B234F engines.Double groove 135.8mm OD water pump pulley on the B230F in the 240 wagon.

Result: No scoring in bores, no scoring in journals, clean, polish, reassemble with the right parts! :-)

Measurement of the "big" Volvo B230F rods, AKA 13mm rods: 13mm thick (front to back on engine), 24mm wide (side to side on engine), parallel for around 70mm before descending to the big end.

Small ones are supposed to be a mere 9mm thick, with a 4 or 5mm smaller journal.

Comparing this with my prior measurements of F8 and FE3 rods, with the FE3 rod at 15.5x22-27 tapered before descending to the big end, and the F8 rod at 14.5x20 non-tapered.

I would say the FE3 rod is a bit stronger than the 13mm redblock rod, but not much. It's also dealing with a longer stroke, but smaller bore. The taper minimises weight where it's the biggest issue, and maximises strength where it's needed most. The F8 rods were not appropriate for what I put through them. Not close. 400whp is common on these Volvo 13mm rods, and has been common on the FE3 rods, too. Both will fatigue with time at that sort of power level, though.

On another note, I'm glad I didn't use this bottom end as-is. It's all fine, but the effort of assembling and using it would have been wasted on something that was near end of life. For example, the bearings are worn. Not terrible, but not good! Not for someone that drives like me :-D Also, although the rings were all free in the pistons (due to CRC soakage?), the oil rings were all clogged up with carbon deposits and unlikely to be working effectively. Not to mention the creatively repaired pulley! LOL.

Why was I checking condition of the block and crank? I'm placing an order for some go-fast goodies in a week or two, and needed to confirm/deny oversizes. Stay tuned for more progress :-)

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